CHAPEL HILL — Diamond DeShields, a freshman who sparked North Carolina’s women’s basketball team to within a couple of possessions of a spot in the Final Four, is leaving the Tar Heels after one season, according to stunning news that broke Thursday.

DeShields plans to transfer, coach Sylvia Hatchell said.

In a statement from the school, Hatchell said she didn’t know “or understand” why DeShields was leaving. Hatchell, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame before the season, didn’t coach during the past season as she focused on treatment for leukemia.

“It breaks my heart that I will not have the opportunity to coach Diamond and help develop her on and off the court,” Hatchell said. “I love her and wish her well.”

DeShields was a core member of a highly touted recruiting class that figured to set up the Tar Heels in good position to contend for national championships for a few seasons.

Some early projections for national rankings next season listed North Carolina as high as No. 2. The Tar Heels had no seniors on the 2013-14 team.

DeShields, a 6-foot-1 guard and daughter of former major league baseball player Delino DeShields, racked up 30 points in an upset at Duke and a program freshman-record 38 points at North Carolina State – in the same week.

She averaged a team-best 18 points per game and became the Freshman of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Her 648 points set an ACC freshman record.

DeShields hasn’t publicly revealed where she’ll transfer. Apparently, she’s friends with A’ja Wilson, the nation’s top recruit who announced Wednesday that she’ll go to South Carolina after considering North Carolina, among others.

All indications point to Hatchell returning to a regular coaching role next season. Associate head coach Andrew Calder oversaw the team’s daily operations during the past season.